A human rights advocate and legal practitioner, Francis Xavier Sosu, has said the government’s inaction when it comes to addressing the infrastructural challenges facing its free secondary education constitutes human rights violations.
“I know they read the budget. I am just imploring the government that we make adequate provision to support the Free SHS otherwise the current state of the Free SHS violates the right to education of these children,” he told Citi News.
[contextly_sidebar id=”z6HitKzya5ePYMi9h76at2PpBx04nVLg”]The infrastructure challenges forced the government to resort to the double track system in Senior High schools.
Mr. Sosu was speaking to Citi News after his address at the commemoration of the 70th International Human Rights Day, where he charged the government to adequately resource the programme.
He is however clear that the Free SHS intervention is for the best.
“Where there is a problem to the extent that somebody who is supposed to learn would have to sit on the floor, then there is a problem because you cannot guarantee the future and the quality of education that child is receiving.”
“To the extent that you don’t do anything about it, we can assure you that you are violating the rights of these children,” Mr. Sosu stated.
The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) recently secured a $500 million facility to boost infrastructure at the various schools in the country.
This was the latest in a string of monetary allocations to overcome the Free SHS challenges.
The Akufo-Addo administration was criticized for not anticipating the pressure on school infrastructure when it rolled out the Free SHS programme.
Before the double track system, there were reports about some of these infrastructure challenges, notably at the La Presby SHS in Osu, Accra, where first years were sitting on cement blocks for classes, and Vitting SHS in Tamale, where some students were sleeping on verandas.
La Presby SHS has since benefited from desks donated by McDan Shipping and the La Dadekotopon Assembly, whilst the Northern Regional Minister went to Vitting SHS and offered support.
Other schools have also benefited from some forms of support.
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By: Calvis Tetteh | citinewsroom.com | Ghana
